Dr. Stephen Russell

Author of the Dr. Cooper McKay Series

Coming November 2014

Command and Control

When a man with flu-like symptoms passes out on a flight from London, Dr. McKay calls on his surgical skills–and a dose of creativity–to save the young man’s life. Instead of gratitude, however, he ignites the suspicions of the U.S. government.

After masked military responders forcefully remove McKay from the plane, he finds himself in the middle of an investigation by the Centers for Disease Control. As a deadly MERS-like pathogen spreads through health centers across the U.S., Mackie learns that the most promising cure is embargoed by the FDA. He soon suspects domestic terrorism rooted in Big Pharma and sanctioned by public health officials.

In the struggle to contain the outbreak, Mackie is caught in the cross-hairs of a governmental cover-up where the only clear solution seems to be silencing the whistle blower.

Buy now:

Blood Money

In Stephen Russell’s debut thriller Blood Money, Doctor Cooper “Mackie” McKay is a surgeon caught between bad love and bad luck. When his ex-wife’s body is unceremoniously crammed into the trunk of his car, and her veins infused with the synthetic blood product they patented together, the police identify him as the primary suspect. Investigators point to their rocky relationship and his ex-wife’s thirty million dollar bank account as a motive. To clear his name, McKay must delve into his ex-wife’s past, discovering a sordid double life and a military secret so deadly it affects the entire country. Threats escalate to himself and then to his family as he exposes her secret, ultimately forcing him to choose between his life and that of his long-time friend.

“Stephen Russell’s strong debut pulls you in, and clips along at a fierce pace, with nuanced characters who are hard to leave behind. I can’t wait for the next Cooper McKay book to come out.” ~ W.H. Watford, Author of Lethal Risk and Mortal Strain

Dr. Stephen Russell is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He has been repeatedly recognized as one of the city’s top doctors and one of the medical school’s top instructors.

Russell used his medical expertise and insider knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry to develop the Cooper McKay series, in which a doctor repeatedly finds himself in difficult circumstances with international repercussions. His debut novel, Blood Money, comes after winning the Santa Barbara Writers Conference Paul Lazaras Award.